Regional
(2009-11-10)
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FORT COLLINS, CO
(KUNC) -
Operators of medical marijuana dispensaries haven't exactly been living the high life during the past two weeks.
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Recently the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that providers, also known as caregivers, must do more than just offer the drug to patients. That triggered an emergency rule making session with the state Board of Health to comply with the change. Today advocates of medical marijuana are going to court to challenge that ruling.
This is the latest development in an industry that's coming under increasingly close scrutiny. Right now State Attorney General John Suthers says the state has no way of keeping tabs on the estimated 100 dispensaries that have popped up across the state. Colorado's Amendment 20 only created a registry of medical marijuana patients.
"Most of the citizens who voted for this didn't envision having a medical marijuana dispensary on every street corner," he says.
Meanwhile, Suthers says cities are struggling to regulate what's going on in their own communities.
"They're seeking direction. What do we do? How do we handle this?" he says.
Colorado is one of five states to have legalized dispensaries. States like New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Maine have guidelines for how stores can grow and dispense the drug. But in Colorado, the lines are fuzzier.
Establishing Ground Rules
The recent developments are a disappointment for Travis Cutbirth, co-founder of Medicinal Gardens in downtown Fort Collins. He says the new definition of caregiver won't change how he operates his three-month-old business. Cutbirth says he already has a personal relationship with many of his patients. However, he says not all dispensaries do.
"There they can't get an answer to their question, 'Is this a sativa? An indica? Is this better for evenings or mornings?'" he says. "It's just, 'Listen, do you want your weed or not?' That just sort of makes us cringe."
Cutbirth says as more dispensaries enter the business, consistent quality of the drug could be an issue. He says he's looking for more basic ground rules
"There are dispensaries being run with low standards, and things like keeping them away from schools making sure that there isn't open advertisement and marijuana leaves hanging from the walls," he says.
Legislative Solutions
Establishing a legal framework is also on the mind of Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver.
"I really believe that we need to create some clear bright lines that someone can track from patient to caregiver to grower where this marijuana is being grown and who's using it," he says.
Central to the legislation would be defining the relationship between so-called caregivers like Travis Cutbirth and their patients. Under his plan, Romer says he would also require the state to license and regulate dispensaries that sell the drug.
"Once you give someone a business license just the same way we do for pharmacists and liquor stores," he says. "Then we have a very strong regime to tell them how to execute the business with a controlled substance."
But Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, wants to go further in regulating medical marijuana use. He's proposing legislation that would put the state in charge of growing and distributing the drug to patients.
"There are some instances in which marijuana is obtained for dispensing illegally, and that puts Mexican drug cartels generally speaking into business in Colorado," he says.
Under White's plan, Colorado would make money from taxing pharmacies, which would be in charge of distributing the drug to patients. Half of the revenue would go toward higher education, and the other half toward a "rainy day fund" for the state.
In the coming months Sens. White and Romer say they'll gather input from the key players in the medical marijuana debate. They'll face a difficult hurdle when the state legislature convenes, though. House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, has said he'll ask lawmakers to focus on the economy, jobs and balancing the budget higher priority items that could make medical marijuana legislation go up in smoke. © Copyright 2012, KUNC
